Television Trauma can result in real distress in some individuals, especially when it comes to their favorite TV programs.

New research revealed how college student viewers react when their favorite programs went off the air. The study showed how important TV role plays in some viewers life, especially in those who have a strong relationship with their favorite television characters or who use TV for companionship.

But for those people who think that less period of time spent with the media, can be a great idea for some individuals – the results can be distressing. Television viewers usually replace time they usually spend by watching their favorite programs along with other media activities such as use of internet and watching television shows reruns, rather than spending more their time doing exercising or with family or friends, according to research.

Some individuals think that television isolates them and takes them away from social activity, but studies show that might not be the cause. Many viewers just replace their normal television watching with other media activity. Those individuals were not used the opportunities to spend more time with family and friends or begin exercising, the author said. Such specific study results revealed that individuals who noticed stronger relationship with their favorite characters also showed more distress when those programs temporarily went off the air for the strike. The study also showed that individuals who were watching TV for companionship, were the ones who experienced most distress by temporarily losing their favorite shows and the most individuals did not do anything different with their free time while their favorite programs went off the air.